Russ breathed in the fishy tang of lake water as he jogged around the artificial pier jutting into the waters of Lake Templeton. The sun was barely peeking over the horizon but there were already three boats lined up to use the pier’s boat ramp and Russ heartily wished his little fishing boat was the fourth. But he had two more days on the three-on, two-off pattern favored by the sheriff’s office before he would have time to go fishing. Besides, he had promised Angie Baxter a follow-up visit this morning after the lab results were in, and a perverse part of him was looking forward to seeing her again.
It had been interesting seeing her in her element last night, both in the funky, girlie shop stuffed with soaps and cosmetics and also in the functional but wonderful-smelling workroom stacked to the gills with mysterious jars and vials. But his visit with Angie last night had raised many questions in his mind. Why was Angie lying to him about no one wishing ill upon her when the evidence that someone did had been left on her front step? And if Angie was only thirty-four, just four years older than he was, how in the hell was she the mother of a college-aged son?
Russ rounded the peninsula and then jogged up the hill where the old fishing lodge sat. Vacant and neglected for the last three years, it was a wreck, but his cousin was thinking about buying it. Unlike most families rich enough to bestow trust funds, the elder Harringtons expected their tribe to invest at least part of their legacy in either a small business or a non-profit, and Kevin had hinted that he and Russ could buy and restore the lodge together. But the last thing Russ wanted was to be responsible for a lodge and a café a block from where he lived. He ran down the hill and around the corner and was about to cut across his huge backyard and duck inside for a shower when he spotted the faint glow of a cigarette on his soon-to-be-brother-in-law’s back deck.
Uh-oh, Russ thought as he changed direction and veered toward the deck. The smoker had to be his sister’s fiancé Jimmy Adamcik, and Jimmy smoked only when he’d had another PTSD episode. Russ jogged around to the back of the house and leaped up on the deck, where a pale and sweating Jimmy was sprawled on a chaise lounge dressed in a pair of board shorts and holding the cigarette in fingers that were still trembling. “Bad one?” Russ asked as he offered his hand for their customary handshake.
“Bad one,” Jimmy admitted. He pointed to a steaming cup of coffee on an end table. “Got more of that in the kitchen.”
“Don’t mind if I do,” Russ said. He wandered into Jimmy’s house and returned a moment later with a cup of his own. “Well, was it Iraq or Chucky and the grenade?”
“Chucky and the grenade,” Jimmy said as he shifted stiffly in the lounge. “I keep forgetting that one had a happy ending.” He turned to get his coffee and Russ spotted a few of the numerous shrapnel scars that peppered Jimmy’s back, butt and the backs of his legs. Jimmy had gotten those scars not in Iraq, but by throwing himself down on top of Holly when a madman tried to blow them up with a grenade the previous fall.
Russ shrugged. “I’ve had that dream more than once myself,” he admitted. “Only you don’t catch the grenade and I have to clean up the bodies.” He sipped the scalding coffee. “Holly didn’t get you awake fast enough this time?” Most of the time Holly could feel Jimmy’s nightmares start and wake him up before they were full-blown disasters.
“She was downstairs munching on crackers and soda,” Jimmy said. “Trying to feel better. Didn’t work. She came upstairs and puked it all up just like the last three mornings and she’s in there now trying to get put together enough to go to work and not puke again in front of the whole damned ROTC class.”
Russ’s head snapped up and he grinned wickedly. “Why, you sly dog you, telling the world Holly was staying here to take care of you while you recovered. Do Dad and Mom know?”
Jimmy shook his head. “No, but her mother does, and Nadine’s sure as hell not happy about it.” Jimmy raised his voice an octave and adopted Nadine Hightower’s imperious expression. “‘My God, Jimmy, you’re running for judge in a conservative county on a family values platform,’” he said in a perfect imitation of his future mother-in-law. “‘And you manage to get Holly in the family way? You think the people in Verde can’t count?’”
Russ laughed so hard he had to wipe tears out of his eyes. “God, you can nail Nadine to a T. I thought you and Holly’s mom had come to a parting of the ways politically.”
“Are you kidding? Nadine stay away from a campaign? God, she smoked her tires out on Highway 29 getting here when Holly told her Judge Riley wanted me to run for his bench. I told her I’d love to have her help but that she had to leave her jackass committee in San Angelo and so far it’s working out nicely. Except for me getting Holly pregnant, and to that I say tough. We’re thrilled about the baby, crappy timing or no.”
“As well you should be. I can’t think of two better people to bring up a child,” Russ said. “So what are you going to do about getting married? Quickie wedding that doesn’t fool anybody, find Holly a really loose wedding dress and marry in September like you planned, or postpone until after the birth and bring the baby to the wedding?”
“I voted for September but Nadine said Holly in a maternity wedding gown would be too much for the voters, so we called the pastor at St. Stephens and moved it up. It’s two weeks from this Saturday on Memorial Day weekend and now Holly and I have the pleasure of informing your parents of the change and why.”
“Mom won’t say a thing; she was six months along with me when Dad’s divorce from Nadine came through and they could finally make it legal.” Russ’s mouth tightened. “And Dad damn well better not give you and Holly a hard time, not after the way he behaved.”
“Even if he does get mad, I think Holly and I will survive,” Jimmy said dryly. “And you know Carrie will be over the moon. She’s so jealous of Ryan Briscoe having a little brother it’s not funny.”
“So how is my favorite nearly-niece doing other than that?” Russ asked.
“Great. She can hardly wait to start kindergarten in the fall and she loves having Holly around. They love each other more every day.” Jimmy’s eyes darkened. “I just wish Ida Puckett wasn’t being such a bitch about it. She thinks that because Carrie loves Holly so much she’s going to forget Lauren.” He shifted his long legs and looked up at the rising sun. “So why aren’t you rushing through a shower and hustling down the road to the justice center?”
“Boss said I could come in late since I had to work an after-hours case at Angie Baxter’s shop last night,” Russ said. “Somebody left Angie one of her own gift baskets with a picture inside of her and Wade with her face blotted out and ‘Angie must pay’ written across the bottom. It took a while to take her statement and then I ran the basket and the picture back into Verde so the techies could get to work on it first thing.” Russ paused and sipped his coffee. “She swears she doesn’t know anybody who has anything against her but I think she’s lying about that.”
“She told you nobody has it in for her? Jesus, her nose ought to grow a foot and a half for that one,” Jimmy laughed as he stubbed out his cigarette.
“Okay, let’s make like a couple of old ladies at the Wednesday Morning Bible Study and you tell me who’s got it in for her. And while you’re at it, maybe you can explain how a woman her age has a twenty-one or -two year old son. She have him when she was twelve or something?”
“The last one’s easy, Russ,” Jimmy said gently. “Angie didn’t give birth to Wade. He was her stepson and she adopted him when he was twelve. I did her adoption work myself, pro bono. After what she went through for that child she deserved for him to be legally hers.”
“I had no idea,” Russ said. “Neither of them has ever said a word to that effect.”
“No, and they’re not going to,” Jimmy said. “And you’d better not bring it up to them, either. As far as Angie and Wade are concerned, they are mother and son, period, and don’t you forget it.”
“So that’s why they were so un-amused when I thought she was his girlfriend last summer,” Russ said thoughtfully. “Touchy subject with them.”
“Very. And, as to who might still have it in for Angie, try the entire Baxter clan from Buck’s mother Molly on down. And a fair number of the Baxters’ friends. They were outraged when Angie was awarded custody of Wade when Buck went to prison and even madder when Buck was prevailed upon to sign over his parental rights to her. The whole thing split the town right down the middle.”
“Good grief; she didn’t tell me a thing about any of this,” Russ groused. “Why didn’t she say something?”
“For a lot of reasons, probably,” Jimmy said. “Angie’s a very private person and I’m sure she’s hated being the object of years of gossip.”
“None of which I know anything about,” Russ reminded Jimmy. “So tell me.”
“Buck Baxter was the youngest of the Baxter boys and the apple of his mother’s eye. Molly spoiled him rotten and then he grew up handsome as sin but restless. Joined the Army right out of high school and didn’t come home for years, then showed up one day with a six-year-old son and an impossibly young and pretty wife. Buck went to work as a deputy sheriff and Angie got a job in the hair salon and they bought a small ranch out on the San Saba highway and tried to raise a few cattle.
“Angie was a model wife and mother and to look at them together you’d have thought they had the world by the tail. But in their case looks were deceiving. The ranch was a poor investment and they immediately got into trouble financially. And when Buck started feeling stressed, Buck hit the bottle. And then he would hit Angie.” Russ flinched and Jimmy paused a minute. “Makes you sick, doesn’t it? And she’s such a tiny little thing.”
“He whip up on her all the time?” Russ asked between clenched teeth.
“Not at all,” Jimmy said. “That was the funny part. When he was sober Buck was certainly nice enough. He would take Angie her lunch at the salon and pick Wade up at school and toss a baseball with the boy. But the minute he got the firewater in him he got as mean as a snake and Angie showed up at work with bruises on her more than once. Everybody in town wondered why she didn’t just pick up her kid and go back to Kentucky.
“And then, probably about four years after they came here, it all came to a head and we learned why Angie stayed with Buck. Wade wasn’t hers and if she’d left she couldn’t have taken Wade with her. She loved the child too much to leave him.”
“Good God, talk about being trapped,” Russ breathed. “So what happened to finally bring things to a head?”
“The bank foreclosed on the ranch,” Jimmy said. “Buck hit the bottle and was still drunk enough the next day at work that he lost control during a domestic disturbance call and popped the husband in the mouth. Sheriff put Buck on unpaid leave and sent him home. Instead he went to the bar and got seriously inebriated and went home and started his usual shit with Angie. But this time Wade tried to defend his mother and Buck proceeded to pick up his ten-year-old son and throw him into a brick wall. Shattered Wade’s left arm in three places and put a crack in his skull. They had to do surgery to relieve pressure on the boy’s brain.”
“Good God Almighty,” Russ said. “What did Angie do?”
“She grabbed a baseball bat and beaned Buck over the head with it hard enough to knock him out and used his own cuffs to hook him to the porch railing. Called 911, hysterical. The operator talked her through what little she could do to help Wade and then while she waited for the sheriff and an ambulance to get there she basically emptied the batteries in Buck’s cattle prod—on Buck. Shocked him God knows how many times.
“She just snapped, I guess. Hence an assault charge, although that was later dropped when Buck sobered up and refused to press charges against her. The district attorney suggested that she do the same, even though she had a black eye and a split lip, and let the charges against Buck be about what he had done to his child.
“And that strategy worked. Buck came off as the monster that had nearly killed his defenseless son and Judge Riley sentenced him to thirty years with no possibility of parole for the first twenty.”
Jimmy shook his head. “And if that wasn’t enough to piss off the Baxters and their contingent, the very week after Buck was sentenced, Angie was awarded permanent legal custody of Wade. The only bone Judge Riley threw the Baxters was visitation rights, and a couple of years later Buck signed the papers clearing the way for Angie to adopt Wade formally.
“Angie worked her ass off to take good care of that boy and Wade in turn has done everything and then some to make her proud, so for them it has definitely been a win-win situation.” Jimmy gazed out on sparkling sunrise. “Not many twenty-three year old women would have willingly taken on a child the way she did Wade.”
“And he’s not even hers,” Russ murmured.
Jimmy looked at Russ sharply. “Oh, he’s hers, Russ. He’s hers in every way that counts.”
*****
Lisa sipped Angie’s iced tea and stared across the little park as Russ jumped off Jimmy Adamcik’s deck and loped across the street. “God, Russ Riley is enough to give a girl high blood pressure. And to think that he moved right here. How did we manage to get by without the beefcake to ogle before he came?” She made a production of fanning herself as Russ let himself in his back door.
“I don’t know about you, but I ogled Rory,” Angie said, her eyes snapping with amusement as the breeze from the water teased her hair. “Still do when you’re not looking.”
“That’s okay. You can look but not touch,” Lisa laughed. “I used to ogle Rory a little, too. Not as much fun now that I’m married to him. So what do you think of our neighbor? Is he ogle-worthy or what?”
“He’s not very tall,” Angie said thoughtfully. “And he cuts his hair too short. He ought to grow out that buzz cut.”
“Are you kidding?” Lisa asked, incredulous. “My God, with a chest and abs and an ass like that he doesn’t have to be tall. And have you gotten a load of that sexy tat on his chest? Angie, are you out of your mind?”
Angie took one look at Lisa’s incredulous expression and burst out laughing. “Jeez, Lisa, of course I think he’s a hunk. I’ve thought he was a hunk every damned morning he’s run down the street in front of me in nothing but a pair of gym shorts and every damned time he’s given me that little sexy grin and asked me how my day’s going. And every damned time he’s mistaken me for my son’s ladylove. What in the hell brought that one on, anyway?”
“Good grief, Angie, when are you going to get over that? He told Rory he’d just gotten home from a rough deployment and hadn’t slept for three days. Furthermore, I would be flattered as hell that somebody thought I was that young.”
“Lisa, you are that young,” Angie laughed. Her face sobered. “You want the truth? I got over that Wade’s girlfriend business a long time ago. It’s his attitude that puts me off. He’s so damned cocksure of himself and a playboy to boot. And then there’s the way he can make you feel like he’s interested in you without saying or doing one thing out of line.”
“Whoa, when did he do that?” Lisa demanded.
“He’s the deputy they sent to the shop last night,” Angie said. “He’s not what I’m used to, Lisa. Russ didn’t say or do a single thing last night that was sexy or flirty in the least, but he let me know in no uncertain terms that he sees me as a woman and that he’s interested. It was in his eyes, I guess.”
“And this is bad because?”
“Because he’s a playboy with a mile-long list of conquests to his name, and if the rumors are correct, an unwise liaison at Fort Hood cost him his military career. What do I need with a man like that?” Angie asked.
“Would you rather have another man get serious on you like your last three boyfriends have and then have to break his heart when you refuse to marry him?” Lisa asked. “Look, Angie, after what happened with Bastard Baxter I understand why you’re dead set against getting married again, although for the millionth time I am going to remind you that not all men are like Buck.”
“I know that all men aren’t like Buck, but men like Buck are out there and I’ll be damned if I’m taking a chance on marrying another one.”
“But what about children?” Lisa persisted. “Surely you want more.”
“There are other ways to be a mother.” Angie smiled to herself as she thought of the special little savings account she added to faithfully every month.
“Okay, I see that my reasoning is falling on deaf ears. So, if you are going to insist upon staying single, then Russ Riley would be the perfect candidate for one of your six-month flings,” Lisa said. “He’s hot, he lives down the street, and he’s not going get his heart broken when you call it off. So what’s the problem?”
Angie laughed as she finished her tea and poured herself another glass. Indeed, what was the problem? She turned dancing eyes on her friend. “I don’t know, but I’ll think of one.”
*****
“There you go, Caroline,” Angie said as she put a big bow on the gift basket and handed it to Caroline Briscoe. “I think Misty will like the new soaps. They’re a bit more sophisticated than what I usually do, a little more dramatic, maybe. They should suit her.”
“Thanks,” the tiny blonde said as she fished her wallet out of her diaper bag and handed Angie her credit card. “Misty’s birthday’s coming up next week and she’s driving down for Jimmy and Holly’s wedding. I guess you know they moved it up.” Caroline’s eyes lit up with amusement.
“Yes, Holly called me this morning to let me know to change the date on my calendar,” Angie giggled. “Any idea why the rush?”
The two women looked at one another and burst out laughing. “God, Jack is having a field day teasing Jimmy about this one,” Caroline laughed. “Good grief, Jimmy’s almost forty and running for judge. It was bad enough when Jack and I brought this little souvenir home from our belated Hawaiian honeymoon. Jimmy and Holly are never going to hear the end of it.”
“Well, I think it’s wonderful,” Angie said, her eyes lighting up. “Just like your souvenir from Hawaii.” Angie’s eyes softened as she looked at the sleeping baby in the carrier beside Caroline.
“Yeah, I know,” Caroline agreed. “And speaking of my Hawaiian souvenir…” she looked down at her youngest son, “I better get to the office in time to nurse Brandon before my first patient rolls in. Think you can pencil me in for a makeup job for the wedding or are you booked solid with the bridal party and moms?”
Angie flipped her appointment book to the day in question. “If you can get to the church by eleven,” she said. “I start the bridal party at noon.”
“Put me down for eleven—and thanks,” Caroline said. She picked up the baby carrier and the gift basket and was halfway across the room when the door opened and Russ Riley stepped into the shop. “Morning, Russ. How are you?” Caroline said as Russ moved aside and held the door for her and the baby.
“Cooler than the last time we met,” Russ laughed. “Thanks for checking out Blanca and the Schutts.”
“All part of the job,” Caroline said. “I hope this incident convinced the old folks to get off the road. Bye, Angie.”
“Bye, Caroline,” Angie murmured as Russ shut the door behind Caroline. His smile faded as he turned to Angie and she could tell that he was plainly irked about something. “Good morning. Did they find prints on the picture or the basket?” she asked.
“No, they didn’t, but then I really didn’t expect them to,” Russ said curtly as he powered up his tablet. “Angie, why didn’t you tell me about the bad blood between you and the Baxters? If things are as bad between you and your ex-husband’s family as I was led to believe this morning, they would be the first ones I would need to look at for this kind of threat.”
“Who…? Jimmy had no right to tell you about me,” Angie said through clenched teeth. “He’s as big a gossip as the old ladies at the hair salon. I guess you asked?”
Russ nodded. “Good thing I did, too, since you didn’t bother to level with me. I can’t look for the perps if I don’t know where to look for them, now can I?”
“I just don’t want to stir things up again,” Angie snapped back. “It was years before the animosity settled down enough that we could even be civil for more than five minutes and I don’t want to go back to having icy daggers thrown my way.”
Russ cocked his eyebrow at Angie. “I bet you threw as many icy daggers as you dodged.”
“Sure did,” Angie said before she could stop herself. “But that’s neither here nor there. The point is that the ill will finally seems to have faded and I don’t want to stir it back up by accusing them of something they didn’t do.”
“But what if they did do it?” Russ countered. “Angie, that wasn’t just a nasty-gram or a derogatory comment about your person. That picture constitutes a threat against you and I have no choice but to talk to the people who are known to have a grudge against you. I’d like to get to the bottom of this.”
“Fine, you can start with your fellow deputy Denton,” Angie said.
“Actually, that is exactly where I plan to start,” Russ said. “He’ll understand my need to ask a few questions and hopefully will clear the way with the rest of his family. I’ll make it clear that I’m asking the questions. Now, what about Buck’s old friends? Any of them possibilities?”
Angie thought a minute. “Obviously you’ll want to talk to Buck’s other brother, Abel. He’s an asshole, just so you know. At one time Buck and Huey Strong were very close and Huey was never a fan of mine. Chesney Young. Sam Rodriguez. Molly’s best friend, Estelle Puckett. She was pissed for the longest time. I know this because her sister-in-law, Ida, is one of my best customers and Ida loves to drop Estelle in the grease. And that’s it.”
“That’s it?” Russ asked. “Jimmy said the town was split right down the middle.”
Angie shrugged. “Actually, it always felt like most of Verde was on my side. Buck didn’t have many friends to begin with, and what he did to Wade cost him what few friends he had. And the consensus around town was that it was Molly’s fault Buck was so spoiled. She took the rap for how Buck ended up. So if Buck had more supporters than the folks I just mentioned, I have absolutely no idea who they would be. If I think of anyone else, I know where to find you.” She smiled faintly. “Gossiping with Jimmy Adamcik on the back deck.”
Russ’s irritation faded and a wicked grin stole across his face. “Speaking of gossip…”
Angie laughed out loud. “Holly’s already called me. I’m doing the makeup for the bridal party and she wanted to tell me the new date. Thank goodness they’ve already taken care of most of the details. I am so happy for her.”
“So am I,” Russ said. He cocked his head and looked across the room at Angie, his grin fading into a slow and sexy smile that sent chills down Angie’s body as every feminine hormone in her body sat up and took notice.
My God, he was sex on wheels, she thought as he continued his visual examination of her body, this morning lovingly displayed in a pair of white capris and a flirty pink shirt with ruffles down the front. He was again dressed in his uniform but in Angie’s mind’s eye she saw him as he looked earlier loping across his backyard, sweat sheening his muscled back and clinging to the light sprinkling of chest hair that trailed down his front and disappeared into his gym shorts. Damn it, he was sex appeal personified, and if the look on his face was anything to go by, he thought she was, too.
She had to get him out of here. He had to get gone before she did something stupid, like plant a warm wet one on his kissable-looking lips. “Uh, was there anything else you needed?” she asked.
“Have dinner with me,” Russ said. He let his smile widen just a little. “And we can make like old ladies and gossip.”
And create a little, too, Angie thought. “Russ, I…”
Whatever Angie was going to say flew completely out of her head when Russ leaned down and planted a soft, gentle kiss on her lips. “I’ll be there about eight. Wear something pretty.” He was out the door before she could say a word.
Angie started to follow him to the door but Lisa’s words from earlier rang in her ears. Russ was a stud of the highest order, he probably was fantastic in bed, he lived close enough to make a discreet little fling convenient, and he was the last man who would ever fall in love. Besides, she was getting way ahead of herself, he hadn’t invited her to join him in bed; he had only asked her out to dinner. It would probably never go any further than that.
But on the other hand, it just might.